


The Jump

by Bug_53



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Dimension Travel, Fish out of Water, Human, Humor, Portals, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:07:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23993500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bug_53/pseuds/Bug_53
Summary: (This oneshot is purely experimental. Maybe I’ll return to it one day and make it a full story, but for now there are other ideas I’d rather explore first.)After a night of patrol goes awry, Judy and Nick find themselves thrown into a curious new world, with strange looking creatures completely unlike any they have ever encountered before.
Relationships: Judy Hopps & Nick Wilde
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	The Jump

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: THIS CONTAINS HUMAN CHARACTERS
> 
> Before we begin, some context: I have these two generic OCs whom I made up long ago when I was still going in and out of this whole fanfiction thing. Their names are Joel and Miranda Love. They are both human siblings and are capable of “jumping” between different fictional universes at will via special technology. These universes all make up a greater group known as “the multiverse.” It’s just an idea I play around with here and there when I’m bored. I haven’t developed a proper origin story for these characters, I mostly just imagine simple scenarios and banter with them.
> 
> Anyhow, sometimes within a universe there will be an occasional spontaneous “tear” in the fabric of said universe for a short amount of time, and anyone and anything that happens to come in contact with this tear will involuntarily “jump” to another universe. I was inspired to write this short piece after discussing the two aforementioned OCs on ZAA and Ry and Ark’s art server, wherein Judy and Nick join the very few unlikely individuals to discover this strange anomaly of the multiverse.
> 
> Anyhoo, on with the weirdness!

“ _ Stop in the name of the law! _ ”

The skunk looked back at the bunny chasing him far behind, but didn’t stop. He was running out of breath however, and needed to lose her fast. He darted quickly around a building and sharply turned into the alleyway, out of the rabbit’s line of sight. He clambered into an open dumpster and shut himself in to hide. Sprinting up round the corner, Judy stopped to find her perp was nowhere in sight. She looked around, but couldn’t find much in the darkness of the night.

The doe sighed in frustration and reached for her radio. “Nick, I lost him,” she said. “I’m at the corner on Acacia Avenue. Can you hurry up over here? I could use your night vision. Over.”

“On my way, Carrots. Be right with ya. Over.”

Judy began slowly walking down the alley, radio still in paw. She couldn’t see much in the darkness. She cursed herself for dropping her flashlight during the chase, and forgetting to charge her phone the previous night.

The doe pivoted her ears around, listening for any sound. Suddenly, she was drawn to a strange, faint light emitting from behind a building’s cracked door.

* * *

Nick ambled along in the direction of the street his partner relayed to him. As he approached the street corner, his radio crackled to life again.

“Nick?” came the doe’s voice. “There’s some kind of strange light coming from one of these old buildings. I’m gonna investigate. Over.”

“Alright, but be careful,” Nick replied. “I’m almost there. Over.”

There was only maybe five seconds of silence before Judy contacted him again.

“Nick,” she said, now sounding rather tense, “something weird’s going o-…” The radio crackled and cut out into static. Nick grew anxious.

“Carrots? I didn’t copy that, what did you say?”

“Some-… I don’t kn-…  _ SWEET CHEE-… -ACKERS, IT’S PULLING ME IN! _ ”

Nick was alarmed. “Judy?! Judy, can you hear me?! What’s happening?!”

“NICK,  _ HELP! _ IT’S-… CAN’T HOLD-…  _ AAAHH! _ ”

One more crackle of static, and then… Silence. A wave of terror washed over Nick. “Judy?!  _ JUDY! _ Come back! Talk to me,  _ PLEASE! _ ”

Still silence. Nick wasted no further time. He sprinted round the building and bolted down the alley, terrified of what he would find. He made an abrupt stop in the middle and found that Judy was nowhere in sight. He desperately called out to her several times, but got no response. His mind was racing. What could have happened to her? Where was she? What if she was hurt, or worse-

The tod suddenly spotted the dim light his partner had just told him about, emanating from the door of the abandoned building. He made a dash for it, praying Judy would be there. He swung the door open and stepped inside.

What happened next, he had no idea. One moment he was standing, the next, he felt as though he was falling at great speed, like being pulled downward through a giant vacuum tube. He was surrounded by blinding light from all sides, unable to see where he was or where he was headed. The force of the journey was so intense that he gradually began losing consciousness.

…But not before finding himself landing hard on his back on a smooth, flat surface in pitch black darkness.

The fox lay still and silent, no energy left to even open his eyes. From within the darkness, his nose could just pick up a familiar scent:  _ Judy’s _ scent. Yes, he could smell her. She was here, and she was close. Whatever happened, wherever they had gone, they had both ended up in the same place.

But what place was it?

Barely awake, Nick could hear what sounded like a door opening, and hard footsteps gradually coming toward him. Two voices began speaking, one male and one female. They sounded rather young, barely above juvenile.

“Whadda we got this time?” asked the male.

“Let’s see,” answered the female. “Looks like a rabbit and a fox. In  _ police gear? _ ”

The male snorted. “What kind of police force would recruit animals?”

“Hang on now,” the female said, “we don’t know anything yet. Remember, different universes follow different logic.”

“Right, right,” the male replied. “I can never seem to get used to that.”

Nick could feel his arms and legs being moved around as he was examined. He couldn’t tell what species these two mammals were, but something about their paws felt… odd. They seemed to be completely hairless, with very long, thin digits. Also, was it his imagination, or did they seem to have  _ five _ fingers on each one?

“Well, they don’t seem to be injured,” the female said. “The jump definitely knocked the wind out of them, though.”

“Yeah, that always seems to happen with first timers,” the male agreed. “I guess we better get them in the beds.”

“We could put both of them in room one,” the female said. “There’s two free beds in there.”

“I don’t know, sis,” the male replied. “Would it really be wise to put them in the same room? I mean, don’t foxes  _ eat _ rabbits?”

“Joel, what did I just say?” said the female, evidently the sister to the male. “Different universe, different logic. Besides, we’ll be keeping a close eye on them anyway. We should be able to catch them the moment they wake up.”

“If you say so,” said the male, whose name was apparently Joel.

Nick could hear the two strangers setting to work. Judging by the sounds, he assumed they were prepping two stretchers to carry himself and Judy to wherever they were just discussing. He wasn’t quite sure if he could trust these individuals, but he really didn’t have much choice at the moment. Different universes? The ‘jump?’ What did all  _ that _ mean? And why would there even be concern that he would  _ eat _ his own partner? The tod tried to make sense of it, but his mind could hardly think straight. He was just so out of it.

Suddenly, he felt both of them grabbing on to him, one on each end.

“Alright,” said the female. “One, two,  _ three! _ ”

Nick felt his body sag as the two beings hauled him up from the floor and promptly set him down onto what he presumed was one of the stretchers.

“ _ Geesh, _ ” gasped Joel. “How much can a friggin’ fox weigh and still be  _ that _ small?”

“Oh, quit bellyaching,” replied his sister. “C’mon, help me carry this thing.”

“Hey, look,” Joel said. “The fox has a name tag.” A short pause. “ _ Wilde. _ Oh,  _ God. _ Please tell me that’s not some kind of pun on  _ wild _ animals.”

“Only  _ you _ would come to that conclusion,” the sister muttered. “Wilde is a real surname, you know.”

“Sure, but giving it to a fox just seems tacky if you ask me,” Joel said.

“Well, no one  _ did _ ask you,” his sister retorted. “Let’s just take it to the room and get this done.”

“What about the rabbit?” asked Joel.

“We’ll make a second trip for it,” said his sister. “Hopefully the landing wasn’t too hard on them.”

That was the last thing Nick heard before the world faded completely as he finally blacked out.

* * *

Nick’s eyes slowly flickered open, but he couldn’t get them to focus properly. He felt dazed, and a bit weak. The fox had no idea how long he’d been out, much less what happened to him.

As his senses gradually returned, he realized he was in a bed. A rather large bed, from the looks of it. Letting out a soft groan, he slid his arms back and slowly propped himself up into a sitting position. He blinked several times as his vision began to clear. Slowly he began to see he was in some kind of cell or holding room, with two dressers and a wide desk with two chairs that all looked to be about wolf sized. In one corner on the far end was a large door with a small window and what looked like some sort of electronic lock installed.

_ Where am I? _

The tod put a paw to his still woozy head. As his eyes continued to focus, he suddenly noticed he was wearing a small wristband that certainly wasn’t there before. He brought his wrist down in front of him to examine it, and found a label adhered across the band. He began reading the neatly printed text.

_ MULTIVERSAL TRAVELER _

_ ID No. 57646 _

_ ORIGIN UNKNOWN _

Nick was puzzled.  _ Multiversal traveler? _ he pondered.  _ What does  _ that _ mean? _

His ears perked as he heard a sound beside him. He turned his head and found there was a second bed in the corner opposite to his own… and Judy was in it. She was laying flat on her back, as he had been, and was starting to awaken.

Nick swung himself over the side of his bed, hopped onto his feet… and toppled forward to his knees, barely catching himself before face-planting the floor. Still a  _ little _ out of it, it seemed. It also didn’t help that these beds were noticeably higher up from the floor than he was used to.

Grabbing his bed for support, he slowly pulled himself back upright. Once he was certain he had a steady enough balance, he let go and carefully stumbled to Judy’s bedside.

The doe winced as her eyes began to open. Nick guessed she must be just as disorientated as he was when he first awoke. She slowly turned to face him, having noticed his presence. She squinted as she tried to focus on him.

“N…  _ Nick? _ ” she breathed, sounding a bit weak herself, “…Is that you?”

The fox placed his paw over hers, “Yeah, Carrots. I’m right here,” he answered, “…Wherever here  _ is, _ anyway.” He gently patted his partner’s paw, and found she was wearing a wristband matching his own, except her ID number was  _ 57647. _

Judy gradually sat up and put one paw to her head, “What happened?” she croaked.

“I wish I knew, Fluff,” Nick replied, “You alright?”

“A little woozy,” answered Judy, “but I think I’m fine.” She looked around the room, blinking a few times. Her brow furrowed, “Where are we?”

“Beats the heck outta me,” Nick said, “But I’ve got a funny feeling we might not be in Zootopia anymore.”

At that moment, both mammals heard a noise. They turned to see the lone door across the room was slowly opening, and inside cautiously stepped-

The bunny and fox flinched in startlement. Standing before them were two creatures of a species completely unlike any they had ever seen before. They were in about the same height range as an adult wolf, somewhere above five feet at least, with one maybe half a head taller than the other, but these creatures were most certainly not any member of the canine family. They were somewhat lanky, with long limbs and proportionately small heads, and facial structure that looked utterly alien from anything living in Zootopia. They were also almost completely without fur, barring the crops of brown hair atop their heads. It soon became apparent to the two officers that the taller of the two visitors was female, while the other was male. Both seemed rather young as well.

The two pairs looked at one another for a moment before one of the visitors, the female, broke the silence.

“Um… Good day, officers?” She said awkwardly, giving a quick salute.

Nick and Judy eyed them strangely. They briefly glanced at each other in confusion. The initial shock had worn off a bit, but they still kept their guard up. They were unsure whether to respond.

The female spoke again, “I imagine you’re both probably a little confused right now, waking up in a strange new place and all.”

Nick quickly looked the two beings over once more, then finally found his voice again, “Actually, that’s the  _ furthest _ thing from my mind at the moment.”

The male raised an eyebrow, “Huh. I guess they  _ do _ speak,” he commented. He turned to the female, “I guess I owe ya five bucks.” She responded by elbowing him and giving him a glare, “ _ Ow! _ What?”

The female sighed and turned back to the bunny and fox, “ _ Anyway, _ I’m Miranda Love, and this is my brother, Joel.”

The male gave a quick salute of his own, “‘Sup?”

Judy and Nick gave each other another glance. Somehow they were beginning to feel  _ they _ would be more of a threat to these creatures than the inverse.

“If you don’t mind, could we get your names?” Miranda went on, “Just for reference, you understand.”

Nick was thoughtful for a moment. He was positive that these were the two individuals whom he overheard tending to him and Judy just before he lost consciousness. It certainly  _ seemed _ like they had no malicious intent, but even so, could they  _ really _ be trusted? He had no idea what species these two even were, for goodness sake! How could he be sure they-

“ _ Hopps. _ ”

Nick turned with surprise to Judy. She was looking up at the two visitors, her previous apprehension having seemingly faded.

“…My name is Judy Hopps,” she said. Her voice was quiet, but full of confidence.

“Oh,  _ God, _ ” muttered Joel, ”And I thought  _ Wilde _ was bad.  _ OW! _ ” His sister responded by elbowing him again, harder this time.

Nick turned back to the male visitor upon hearing his own surname. He was suspicious for a moment, but then remembered the name tag pinned to his uniform. Putting that aside, the tod decided that if his partner was willing to trust these creatures, so was he.

“And I’m Nick Wilde,” he said. He gave his attention to Joel, “Our names make ya  _ cringe _ there, Ace?”

Joel was taken aback, “Um… I… Uh…”

“‘Cause if I may say so,” Nick went on, beginning to smirk, “I think given some time, you could really learn to  _ Love _ them.” Judy groaned loudly in embarrassment and flopped back onto her pillow.

Joel just stared at Nick in disbelief. “Did I seriously just get dad joked by a  _ fox? _ ” He murmured to his sister.

“Well, at least his jokes are better than yours,” she snarked.

Judy lifted her head and glared at Miranda. “Don’t encourage him!” she called out, before flopping back down again.

* * *

“So, let me get this straight…” Nick began slowly. “Carrots and I crossed over, or ‘jumped’ as you keep calling it, to an alternate universe, that being yours, because we both stepped into some kind of ‘tear,’” he made air quotes at the word, “in the fabric of our own universe, which opened for  _ no _ given reason at all, and now we end up here with you two.”

Miranda shrugged. “That’s the basic gist of it, yeah.”

Nick stared blankly at her for a moment. “You know that all sounds like something out of a cheesy science fiction movie, right?”

“What can I say?” Miranda replied. “The multiverse works in strange ways.”

Nick rolled his eyes, “Understatement of the year,” he muttered.

“Wait,” put in Judy, “So, how exactly do we get back home, then? Do we just… go back to that tear thing we found and go through it again?”

Miranda bit her lip. “Well, see, that’s where things get a little complicated,” she said, “You see, these tears opening up is actually an extremely rare occurrence, and even when it does happen it only remains open for a short amount of time. By the time we found you and Nick after you both jumped, the tear you passed through had already closed on our end.”

Judy and Nick’s eyes widened as a feeling of dread came over them. They took a moment to process this information before Judy spoke again, “So… we’re  _ trapped _ here?”

Miranda put her hands up. “ _ For the time being, _ ” she said firmly, “We  _ do _ in fact have a way of jumping to other universes without the need of a tear opening. A good friend of ours, who’s a professor, has managed to develop some special technology that allows anyone who has previous contact with a tear to jump to any universe of choice at will.”

The bunny and fox’s ears perked, but then Nick’s brow furrowed. “ _ Wait, _ ” he said, lifting a finger, “If you’ve already got some gizmo or whatever that can do all of that, what’s stopping us from going back  _ now? _ ”

“Well,” Miranda began, “as you can probably imagine, there are essentially an infinite number of different universes spanning the entire multiverse, each one unique in it’s own way. In order to send you back to your  _ precise _ universe, we first have to determine your multiversal origin.”

There was another brief silence as Nick and Judy processed this. “…And just  _ how _ do you plan to do that?” Judy asked suspiciously.

Joel smirked to himself. “Well,” he mumbled, “first we’ll have to get samples of your brain tissue-”

“ _ JOEL, I SWEAR TO GOD! _ ” snapped Miranda.

“I was  _ kidding! _ ” he defended.

Nick glared at him and folded his arms. “Oh ho  _ ho,  _ a  _ comedian, _ are we?”

“Oh  _ great, _ ” muttered Judy, “Now I gotta put up with  _ two _ smartmouths.”

“ _ Anyway, _ ” sighed Miranda, “all we should  _ really _ need is a small hair- err,  _ fur _ sample from each of you. We can take it to our professor friend, he can analyze it, and from that he should be able to find out your exact multiversal origin. Once that’s done, we’ll have all the information we need to send you both back home.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “And how long will that take?”

Miranda hesitated for a moment. “Well, it kinda varies usually,” she explained. “Sometimes it only takes a couple days, but other times it can take close to a week. I don’t really know how the process works, honestly.”

Judy’s ears fell behind her head. “A  _ week? _ ” she mused. “Stuck  _ here? _ In some alien world?”

“Says the talking rabbit,” Joel mumbled to himself. His only response this time was a confused look from the two Zootopians.

“A week  _ at most, _ ” Miranda said. “But I can promise the both of you, we  _ will _ get you back home. We’ve been through this kind of thing before, and we have a system. The biggest thing we need is your cooperation.”

Nick and Judy looked at each other. They didn’t say anything, but somehow they both knew what the other was thinking. They thought and considered for a little while, before giving each other a little smile. They turned back to the other pair.

“Well, I guess there’s not much choice, is there?” Nick sighed. “Alright, go ahead and pluck some fur, I suppose.”

“We should only need about three strands each,” Miranda said as she and her brother began to walk out of the room. “We’ll be right back.”

The door shut and the bunny and fox were left alone again. Nick hopped onto the bed beside his partner. As he looked at her, he saw her hang her head, a glum look now on her face. “You okay, Carrots?” he asked earnestly.

“I guess so,” Judy sighed. “Just… a little overwhelmed, I guess.”

Nick put his arm around her. “Don’t worry, Fluff,” he soothed. “Whatever happens, we’ll be in it together.”

Judy looked up at the fox, and an appreciative smile slowly spread across her face. “Yeah,” she whispered. “You’re right.”

Nick returned a smile of his own. “Besides, if I had to get stuck in some alternate universe with someone, I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather it be than you.”

Judy chuckled. “Gee,” she snarked, “thanks a  _ lot. _ ”

Nick gave a laugh, and a moment later, he took the doe into his arms and the two shared a long, comforting embrace. It really was one of those times where the bunny and fox were truly grateful to have each other.

**Author's Note:**

> I think I’ll stop things here for now. I’m well aware there are still a great many ideas to explore with this concept, and maybe someday I’ll pick it back up again, but I think I’d rather play around with some other plot-bunnies of mine before I get too deep into it. Hope you enjoyed my weird little experiment, and I hope at least some of you like Joel and Miranda so far. Now that I’ve finally revealed them to other people, I may use them a bit more often… Maybe.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
